Suppose you were in a distant and strange city ... what would you do?

The quickest way to get to know a strange city as soon as possible is to let local friends take you around the streets of the city. But when you have no friends and want to make a decision about this city, there are several places to visit.

First, you can go to the market. No matter at home or abroad, every city will have fairs and markets distributed in residential areas of the city. This is a good place to learn about local daily diet, local products and consumption habits. Compare the prices of daily consumer goods, and you will have a general understanding of the local living consumption index. In China, you can find the prices of pork, fish and vegetables. The price of two Jin of pork a day is probably the median of local consumption level. Abroad, we can look at the prices of beef, cheese and sausages. In some meat-producing western countries, the price of five to six kilograms of beef is the middle line of local income. Vegetables are cheap for Southeast Asian countries, but they are by no means lower than meat in Europe. But don't compare local specialties. For example, beer in the Netherlands is as cheap as bottled water, and there are many varieties. I've also seen beer with an alcohol content of 30 degrees. But French beer is much more expensive than Dutch beer. There are two other places to visit abroad. One is the Sunday market, and the other is the flea market. Sometimes the two are combined into one, and the flea market is mainly second-hand and low-priced goods. On weekends, local residents will sell some second-hand goods at home and some handmade products made by themselves. There are also homemade fruit wine and honey. Therefore, you can learn about the living habits of residents in this city and the changes brought about by the updated lifestyle. For example, when VCD was popular in China, video tapes were still very popular abroad. In the second-hand market, video tape trading is very active. With the popularity of DVD in recent years, the video business has declined. However, there are still a large number of videos dumped in the second-hand market, many of which are returned by movie rental video stores, but few transactions have been made. If you are lucky, you can also find some antiques and some exquisite handicrafts in the second-hand market.

The other is to visit the old city. The rapid development of China in recent years has completely broken the life scope and habits of thousands of years. The most obvious point is that in the past history, except for huge natural disasters and fires, the life centers of towns formed naturally will not change much. People just slowly extend around this central point. In the past two decades, in order to cope with the rapid development of society, many urban centers have been artificially transferred and new urban areas have emerged day by day. And this new area often has the characteristics of administrative relocation. To develop a new district in a city, the four major teams of government departments are often pioneers in enclosure. With the arrival of banking, water, electricity, communications, public security, inspection, law, finance, taxation and other related departments. All of a sudden, the administrative center of the city moved greatly, supporting hotels flew around like flies, and real estate developers greeted each other with smiles, forming a new city center. These places are wide asphalt roads or cement roads, and some seedlings with thick wrists are planted on the roadside, and the shade just covers a small piece of soil exposed under the tree. Cities in the south will plant some big prince trees, just like the wandering three hairs written by Huang Leping, standing on the roadside shivering in rows. The neon lights are flashing, and the rows of cars in front of the door must be famous local hotels and restaurants. Occasionally, there is a fertile field covered with thin loess on the road, with the same building. In dusty places, hands and feet stand high. It's the same in the north and the south. Nothing special. If the local government buildings, banks, power supply, telecommunications and other office buildings are quite different from the local general buildings, then the living standard of this place will be relatively low, and things will be particularly difficult.

After years of washing, the old city has distinctive urban characteristics. Buildings and vegetation are integrated, and there is no fire like the new city at all. The contrast between the old and new areas in Shanghai is obvious. In the old city, the life and health habits of civilians can best reflect the spiritual outlook and civilization of the city. In a place where even a dirt road is clean and tidy, residents will be more self-disciplined and kind, and they will have more face. The old city is generally narrow and crowded, but it does make people feel the breath of life. The specialties and snacks of this city are also relatively concentrated in the old city. The minced meat and sour bean powder in Kunming alley, the red bean paste in Nanning food street, the fruit cake on the roadside in Beijing early in the morning, the last cup of sour plum soup in Korean barbecue shop, the roast beef in Melbourne, Australia, and the raw haling fish in Grolingen market in the Netherlands all left me with endless memories. Here you can observe the convenient and reasonable places in life. Folk custom is also a manifestation of nature. This balance and harmony is symbiotic with local living habits. Only here can you see the true face of the city.

In foreign countries, especially in Europe, urban changes are slow and orderly. In those small and medium-sized towns, churches and squares are basically the central points, and radial roads radiate from the squares. Shopping center, butcher shop, coffee shop, post office, market and residence are its main buildings. This pattern has been repeated many times in big cities. The post office is usually the center of a residential area or shopping spot. Solving daily necessities and understanding local specialties are inseparable from this point. Most foreign smaller cities have Chinatown. Because of the lively living habits of China people, Chinatown is generally near or right in the middle of the city center. Chinatown is mainly catering industry, but the service targets of restaurants will be focused. The dishes in restaurants targeting local customers will be changed to adapt to local habits. Restaurants for overseas Chinese and Southeast Asian customers try to keep their original flavor. How to choose a local restaurant without knowing it? Look at the dark-haired customers in the restaurant. You can't go wrong when you walk in. Except in Africa, of course.

Another place to go is the night consumption place. These places are compasses for local trends. Here we can see the consumption maturity of this city. In big cities, except for some famous clubs and hot spots, the general consumption level is reasonable. Where consumption level is low, the cost of nightlife is higher. Because it can't be maintained by the consumption of the general public, it can only survive by killing people with high profits. Moreover, the higher the average age of people coming and going in nightlife places, the lower the living standard of this place. In addition, you can also see if there are any performances in local singing venues that can support the scene. If there is a certain level, then the city belongs to the middle consumption level, and the general white-collar class can afford it. Without this performance, there are two possibilities. One is that the local consumption level is too low to support such performance. Either the local living standard is high and the cultural level is low, and the rich grandfather is not worthy of this kind of consumption. Alternative consumption places are very active. In addition, the types of wine in the bar can also reflect the scope and energy of the city's external contact. In cities with certain consumption capacity, bars will have some alternative wines that are not easy to see in the market in order to seek novelty. In cities with many foreign companies, the proportion of wine sold in bars in the countries where investors are located is also higher.

After walking around like this, you will have a certain understanding of the city. Of course, museums and libraries are also worth visiting. As for the famous scenic spots, you only need to look at the advertising leaflets in this city. Is there a better shortcut? Yes, but it depends on your charm. Inadvertently, a cultural exchange event was staged in the local market. As I said at the beginning, you already know your local friends. The quickest shortcut is this.